In this post we are pleased to share an inside look into the workings of our Central Asia-Caucasus Fellowship Program’s alumni body, the CAMCA Network, and the talented individuals that comprise its leadership, the CAMCA Network Board. We have been delighted to see the alumni of our program come together to develop an enduring community with such an important mission and we are excited about the prospective impact of their efforts on improving cooperation throughout the CAMCA region. We hope you enjoy learning more about the CAMCA Network from some of its current leadership below.
The CAMCA Network defines itself as a collection of professionals committed to sharing ideas, knowledge, expertise, experience and inspiration across the 10 countries of Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan (CAMCA). Linked by their shared values and vision of regional connectivity, the new generation of leaders that comprise the Network are driven to contribute to the development, prosperity and cooperation of the CAMCA region through a variety of joint activities and projects. (Find a directory of Network members and more at camcanetwork.com.)
Spearheading these initiatives is the Network’s formal leadership body, the CAMCA Network Board. Consisting of 10 alumni − including one representative, known as a National Coordinator, from each CAMCA country − the Board meets regularly to guide the Network’s broader agenda and initiatives. (Review the bios of all current Board Members here.)
Members of the CAMCA Network Board include an array of talented leaders across sectors, representing government, finance, technology, entrepreneurship, business, defense, economics and law. Current Board members hold such top-level positions as a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Peace, a Chairperson of a political party and a Foreign and Economic Policy Desk Officer at the Office of the President. Hear directly from these impressive regional minds on some of their personal insights on the Network and its future below.
1. What are some of the most important upcoming initiatives that the CAMCA Network will be focused on in the year ahead?
“I believe 2021 will be the most productive year yet for the CAMCA Network. Although in-person activities were the heart and soul of the CAMCA Network before the COVID-19 pandemic, the strong will of members to remain connected and help each other out in these difficult times actually fostered more intensive and effective collaboration among the Network. A few examples of this engagement include the creation of new working groups that support the development of joint regional projects and programs in the fields of business, education and civil society; as well as the introduction of a diverse series of online events to continue debating important regional issues and to showcase our talented members and their work to the broader public.”
“Some of the CAMCA Network’s upcoming goals include organizing and contributing to the development of the next CAMCA Regional Forum and various satellite online events as well as facilitating the growth of our CAMCA working groups. Apart from building out these internal activities, the Network is also focused on raising external visibility and recognition of the CAMCA Network.”
“Considering the impact COVID-19 had on the CAMCA Network’s activities, particularly our annual meeting and CAMCA Forum, we are eager to re-energize the Network’s connectivity with a combination of online and offline opportunities as travel restrictions relax. We hope to increase our momentum and build on the years of investment in human capital made throughout previous CAMCA activities. I believe organizing a robust CAMCA Forum post-COVID will be of the utmost importance.”
“The most important goal for the CAMCA Network is to utilize our existing platform for the benefit of regional cooperation. Toward this end, some of our main upcoming projects are going to be focused on implementing cross-border projects in business, non-governmental development and education.”
“The main areas of work for the CAMCA Network will be to identify opportunities for cooperation in the post-COVID period and more sustainable modalities of operation for the Network that will ensure continued growth and development."
“Chinggis Khan once said that conquering the world on horseback is easy, it is dismounting and governing that is hard. Establishing the CAMCA Network that stretches from the Caucasus to Mongolia was the relatively straightforward part, but consolidating this Network through tangible projects and results requires much more effort. The CAMCA Network's focus in the year ahead will be facilitating as many joint ventures and projects as possible between the CAMCA nations. Our Working Groups are already yielding tangible results. For instance, Lhamour, the organic cosmetics company founded by one of the Mongolian Network members, has already signed an MoU with other CAMCA Network members to open a new branch in Dubai.”
2. Please briefly describe your vision for what you would like the CAMCA Network to look like 10 years from now.
“In 10 years, the CAMCA Network will be a unique brand and a leading organization in the region. Its ranks will include multiple generations of high-level professionals from various walks of life experienced in building and managing large-scale regional projects in business, education and other vital fields, and with expertise in championing solutions for complex regional issues.”
“I would anticipate that the CAMCA Network will become a recognizable and reputable platform for discussion and exchange of ideas, experiences and policies among the CAMCA region. It might function as the Atlantic Council platform does where key issues and pressing problems are presented and discussed among regional thought leaders and policymakers. There is not yet a regional policy platform where Georgia can share its reformist strategy, or where Kazakhstan can share its experience with the Eurasian Economic Union with Russia, or where Tajikistan can voice its concerns over Chinese debt, or where Mongolia can share its policy for balancing two neighboring powers with imperial ambitions. Such a CAMCA-focused discussion platform would be utilized to increase influence, foster interaction, attract attention, gain expertise, raise awareness and even promote or lobby for the region.”
“I see the CAMCA Network and Forum in a decade as a vehicle for the best and the brightest of the region to get together and discuss the joint future of the region. It would be a platform for major business actors as well as cultural ambassadors to engage with each other and continue to identify synergies among member nations.”
“I personally want CAMCA to be: a Family [of intelligent and open-minded people], a Club [per interest, which gathers like-minded folks in one place], and a Brand [from our own TV show to "CAMCA" companies in various economic areas, like logistics or a legal firm.)”
“I am confident that the CAMCA Network has the potential to become a robust and significant network, both in terms of the size and quality of its members, and in terms of its connecting power and potential for generating joint projects. The Network has the potential to become known as the main partner of choice for stakeholders in the CAMCA region. At the same time, the CAMCA Network's events can become a platform for discussing global challenges and prospects in the context of the region and its potential social and geo-economic role.”
“There is no doubt that the enormous untapped potential and resources of the CAMCA Network will play a much more prominent role in the next decade. We hope that 10 years from now the CAMCA Network will be strategically and proactively positioned to become the torchbearer of this inevitable progress.”
3. Why do members of the CAMCA Network think it is valuable and important to promote intra-regional cooperation?
“Members of the CAMCA Network believe that intra-regional cooperation is key to address political and economic challenges in the region and that it also contributes to the prosperity of the region.”
“Without regional cooperation the region can easily become overtaken by other superpower-driven initiatives, be separated and divided into smaller and, hence, more insignificant parts, with virtually no voice. The CAMCA region is surrounded by influential countries with imperial ambitions, from China and Russia to Turkey and Iran. The only way to counterbalance their ambitions and influence is to impose a multi-vector policy, to diversify our foreign aid and investment portfolio, and to oppose threats as a regional economic union.”
“Our common history connects us and should be utilized in a way to benefit the region.”
“Because only through collaboration with others do you become better and stronger.”
“History has demonstrated many times that the countries and regions involved in intra-regional cooperation have better managed and endured social, natural and economic disasters and shocks. Enhanced intra-regional cooperation drastically decreases the risk profile of the region and hence increases its attractiveness for international investors and partners. Intra-regional cooperation creates a basis for future growth and qualitative change in societies and economies, and this factor, in terms of its importance, comes out on top in the period of technological and scientific transformation that we are currently observing.”
“At the core of the CAMCA Network is human interaction. It is absolutely astonishing how much commonality the CAMCA nations share with each other and how much we are unaware of it. CAMCA intra-regional cooperation is therefore an organic process. The process can only be promoted through actual commercial and substantive collaborations that will bring value to all of the nations.”
4. In what ways has your involvement with the CAMCA Network personally impacted you? What have you learned from being a member of the CAMCA Network?
“The CAMCA Network brought me lifelong friends, whom I wouldn’t have otherwise met. The Network opened up a whole new world for me, challenged my perspective about many of the other CAMCA countries and changed my overall view of the region.”
“I have personally benefitted in many ways. I’ve met people that I would never have met, traveled to places that I would have never gone and learned things that I would have never tried to understand. I really enjoy the insightful discussions at the CAMCA Forums and the atmosphere of friendship and teamwork. I have learned that we share so many more commonalities among the CAMCA countries than I could have ever imagined.”
“I have a much stronger appreciation for what brings us together and connects us, and also a renewed desire to explore the region.”
“You may wonder what an always busy lawyer can get from this Network, but I get invaluable things, for which I have endless gratitude! From timely references, which led to my promotion at a new job, to communication on business matters or when I just need a piece of friendly advice on a personal matter. Thanks to the CAMCA Network, I have friends from all over the world, and I know the world!”
“I can divide my professional life into pre- and post-participation in the Fellowship Program. I gained experience and knowledge that cannot be obtained within academia and joined a network of people who are both patriots of their countries and are recognized and accomplished professionals sharing similar views on regional, mutually beneficial cooperation. I am still learning to set higher goals that go beyond the interests of myself, my family, my street and my country. I am learning to think globally with consideration of the future of my country.”
“Most importantly, through the CAMCA Network, I have gained lifelong friendships and invaluable perspectives. It is arguably the only platform available today to explore our shared historical legacy and to discuss the exciting new opportunities emerging in our previously underrated region.”
Learn more about the CAMCA Network at camcanetwork.com.